The Shadows That Burn (Daughter of Fire #2)

Ch.18: Promise

Elsie was right when she said that Agatha had placed Gabriel in a nicer part of the dungeons. The chamber was at the highest floor, guarded by four Congress officials posted outside, and had one singular cell at the far end of the room. Unlike the dark, confined space the founder of the Congress had stuffed us in before, this one was far more appropriate for its prisoner.

At first, I wasn't allowed entry, which left me threatening the guards to let me in unless they wanted severe burns. Agatha had barred anyone who wasn't authorized from entering. Luckily, Captain Maroo had been one of the few who had authority on the matter, and when she had heard my quarrel with the guards, she had rushed in to aid me.

The room was lit with a line of hooked torches mounted on the stone walls and smelled surprisingly pleasant -as if it was recently cleaned and polished. Behind the iron bars sat Gabriel on a cushioned chair, still unconscious. His head slanted forward as familiar red strings glowed on his wrists and bound them to the chair's armrests.

I recognized Agatha's magic on his pale skin, for it was the same one that trapped Elsie and me when we were in the archives. But the restrictive threads weren't the only thing that kept Gabriel restrained. At his feet circled several runes on the ground that emanated a scarlet hue. They were connected by round intersections that enclosed around him, and I could feel pressure sinking into me the moment I got closer to the cell and those runes pulsed with power.

Still, I ignored the heaviness that clung to every joint in my body and sat with my legs crossed in front of the pillars barricading me from Gabriel.

Nothing in him moved, not even a flutter of his eyelashes. His hair, which had grown past his ears, had locks of black curls falling over the green oval gem stitched to his forehead. Now that he was so clearly in front of me, his face illuminated by the gentle light coming from the torches, I could notice a few changes.

For starters, he had a full beard instead of the usual stubble, and it didn't seem like it was maintained throughout the past three months. He also appeared to have lost a little weight, his high-cheek bones becoming more prominent than before. The black spots under his eyes looked almost like they were painted.

My own eyes could not lift from the stone carved on his skin. This thing was the reason all of this was happening and destroying it wasn't an easy feat.

I thought about Redmond, who had managed to break the one controlling Queen Adria. But neither he nor the queen seemed like they were able to recover from the damage -granted, it was still too early to tell.

Yet, Queen Adria still hadn't woken up, and gods know how she will be when -if -she does. As for Redmond, breaking the stone pushed him to his limits, and he seemed shell-shocked. Then there was the matter of his arms, which hadn't reformed back and did not seem as if they would anytime soon.

I recalled how I almost broke Gabriel's gem. I was already injuried, my flames wearing, so my magic wasn't at its fullest, but I did manage to inflict a dent.

The tiny crack was visible on the glimmering surface as I focused my attention on it. If I could do it again, I might be able to crush it completely.

"It's hard to see him like this." A drained, soft voice spoke near me. I blinked when I realized I was drifting off and turned my head to look at Princess Lis. She must have come in when I wasn't paying attention.

For a moment, my gaze wandered to the bindings around her hairline, then to the deep lines contouring her ashen, exhausted face. She looked somewhat older, and something in the way she carried herself seemed small.

Her pained eyes swept over her brother before she regarded me. "I don't fully understand why he's like that, but seeing Gabriel like this..."

Tears welled up as she released a shuddering breath. I didn't know what to say, didn't know how to comfort her. I wasn't even sure if she wanted my company.